Bayern meet Barcelona!

If there are two teams that social media has compared the most with the cliched 'unstoppable force' tag this year, they would be Bayern Munich and Barcelona. After the draw, I'm seeing a lot of 'Oh no Barca!', 'Oh no Bayern', 'we'll easily beat them' messages from both sides of the fence. Mostly, many fans of both teams wished they didn't meet each other for the Semis.

When the draw for the Semifinals was made, I was kind of hoping it would come to this - both as a fan of Bayern and as a fan of the game.

As a fan of the game, I can see Dortmund play Bayern every year. At least twice. Out of Madrid and Barcelona, Barcelona's system is considered the more superior by a majority of the critics & media worldwide. Hence, it'd be great to see this 'deutscher-meister' Bayern side take them on over two legs, when the odds are even (home & away) and both teams have two legs to play to-and-fro strategy, in addition to the brilliance that evolves during the period of the game.

Why not Madrid? 

Much as I'd like an all German final, I expect Real Madrid to leave Dortmund behind this time. During the 'group of death' matches, Real would have spent the lowest amount of time preparing for BVB, focusing more on Barcelona at home and getting the better of Man City in the CL. This time around, Dortmund have Mourinho's complete attention. He's very good at destroying an inexperienced side at this level - even with a slightly above average, upcoming squad (Porto!). With a squad like Madrid's, Dortmund have an Everest to climb. All due respect to Dortmund, though. They have been brilliant and have it in them to see Real off, but I don't see that happening over these two matches.

But wait, this post is about Bayern, right? 

It'd make perfect sense for Bayern to meet Real in the final. We know, saw and cried over what Mourinho did to Bayern with his Inter. He's exceptionally good at strategising for one-off matches. I have been amazed time and again by the stuff he comes up with for these matches - at Porto, Chelsea, Inter and Madrid. It is WAY more difficult to beat Madrid in the final as against meeting them in the Semis. As a fan of Bayern, this makes it the most difficult way to winning the League.

You can't expect me (and my kind) to survive yet another final or SF loss, no? 

But yes, I prefer this fixture. I want Bayern to win the Semis. I want Bayern to win the Final. If we do it, though, there's not a damn way in hell Bayern can be put down in any argument.

There can't be a 'German Champions? That's not a competitive league!' even from the most ignorant among idiots. There can't be a 'But you didn't meet Barcelona, no? That's the best team out there'.

No. Bayern will be the best team in Europe, across leagues.

Why do I have this crazy wish for difficult fixtures? 

Because I am what I am.

When you see a Bayern match and see fans holding a big banner that says, 'Mia San Mia!', that's what it means.

Bayern Munich - Barcelona [Round 2] Ding!

As a fan of Bayern Munich, I have never seen a worse performance (or mindset) from the German Side. I couldn't watch the screen after the fourth goal. I was sooo down. Only a Chelsea victory kept me from crying.

At the end of Round 1 in this amazing match-up of a quarterfinal in the European boxing championship, Barcelona had punched four teeth out of its opponent Bayern Munich in the first half of the round, and the second half was more like Bayern saving the rest of its teeth from falling, rather than trying to exact some revenge.

Round 2 is gonna start and Bayern is well aware of all the criticism it has been getting from the World Media and old players, which all claim round 1 as the worst ever performance in Bayern's History. Bayern will not mind losing teeth anymore, and Round 2 will be about saving its face (figuratively) in the eyes of the World Media. A meek surrender of a German Champion has never been heard of in the past. Bayern will put its life on the line to get through this one. One hand of Bayern, which fans call Ribery, was of the mindset that it could never get to Barca's face in Round 1. Hope its confidence increases and reaches Van Bommel's. Oh yes, the left eye, Schweini, will be very keenly looking at let ups from Barca. Mind you!

Barcelona is a proud team. It had fun teasing, punching and seeing Bayern's blood in Round 1, and will look forward to repeating it. At the best form of its life, Bayern should be push overs, or so it thinks. All it needs to do is play safe and by the rules to get through Round 2 and emerge the winner.

Will it be able to? Or Will Barca's Mess(i)y Hand knock Bayern's jaw this time? Whew, Can't wait.

UEFA Champions League 2009 - The second leg of the Round of 16

Sheesh, this is more boring than I thought. Happens.. Especially when there's no one who's gonna read it :P So, I am going to keep this short. If Someone at any football site is reading this, contact me! Most interested to write my life away. :)

Okay.

To begin with, Barcelona will definitely make it to the QF. Anyone who sees how they are performing as a team in La Liga will agree with me.

I do not know much about either Villareal or Panathinaikos to talk in length about their encounter.

Porto can get through if they can only manage to stop Sergio Aguero.

And yea, well..

First Leg : Liverpool 1 - 0 Real Madrid

Rafael Benitez has (once again) been hailed by the Media as the European Gold master, while I guess the same people were agreeing with the "Rafa has to go" campaign as recently as a week ago. Just a quick reminder. He has to put together his Premier League side too. And yes, another news in his favour would be parry leaving Anfield.

The Gates of Anfield have scared every major European team that walked through, and Madrid would be yet another one. Anfield on an European night is so Red that the visitors who come there don't even search for a win. And this time too, it will be no different.

If any man can make a difference to this equation, it would be Arjen Robben. Raul has been great as usual. But Liverpool can handle him with ease. I have lost any faith in Juande Ramos if at all I had any. But then, he needs more time to get his act together, and Anfield would be the most important match of the season for him. A win may not mean anything, but a loss would send him out crashing for sure.

Torres limping is NOT good news, on the other hand. Gerrard getting some taste of the ball is a good sign, and he has always been a great presence in European outings, much larger than life. Alonso has been exquisite with his long shots, and is a pleasure to watch, even when you don't support Liverpool.

Prediction? Tough one. Unless Robben runs through Liverpool, it's another 1 - 0 for the Anfield side. And the goal may come from Hyypia or someone. More prediction? A header, probably. :P

Gimme a treat if this turns out to be the case.